The Gift of Her Heart
by sweetsheart
Summary: It's Christmas Day. Spirit's drunk. Stein's got a problem; and that problem relates to the only woman who's ever made him feel any hint of emotion. Rated a high T for strong language and mild sexual themes. SteinxMarie Christmas fic.


"_Stein… I-I think I love you." Marie said, rubbing her hands together._

"_What?" Stein asked._

"_I…I love you, Stein." Marie said. Instead of responding, Stein simply cranked his screw backwards._

"_Stein… say something. Please." Marie begged._

"_I… I have to go." Stein said, turning on the spot and burying his hands in his pockets._

"_Stein? Stein, no." Marie said, but it was too late. Stein was out the door. Marie shook her head._

"_No… this can't be happening… no." Marie thought to herself._

_She then dropped to her knees and began to sob._

* * *

><p>Christmas was never something Stein celebrated before her. But she loved it. So he played along, sitting around, awkwardly, so aware of her needs that he even tolerated the crepe paper Christmas cracker hats people threw on him at various times. But, in the middle of the day, she pulled him away and told him three little words he'd never heard come out of anyone's mouth about him before.<p>

And he ran away.

* * *

><p>"A-And then…w-we had…" Spirit hiccupped, the alcoholic eggnog sloshing in his glass. The two of them were sitting at the bar in Chupa Cabra's, the vague sounds of bubblegum pop, the occasional Christmas song and female giggling in the background. Spirit loved this place. Stein, however, did not. Spirit and Stein were yin and yang, two ends of a magnet, the two poles of the Earth. They were very different people; Spirit a man of faith and religion, Stein one of pragmatism and science.<p>

"Did you have sex with her, sempai?" Stein asked, swirling his own eggnog in the glass, the frozen cubes clinking against the glass.

"Y-Yeah! H-How'd you know?" Spirit asked, laughing slightly.

"Because that's been the outcome of the last six stories." Stein sighed, looking down at the alcohol.

"Ah-ha-ha! Y-Yeah, I suppose t-that'd do it." Spirit smirked. He looked over at his former technician's still untouched glass.

"W-Why are you not d-drinking? It's C-Christmas, man." Spirit asked, his cheeks flushed in intoxication.

"Because you know how low a tolerance I have for alcohol." Stein remarked. Spirit looked into his drink and sighed.

"You o-only come down here w-when you're getting in too d-deep with her." Spirit said, looking over at Stein. Stein glowered at him, but Spirit was having none of it.

"N-No. That m-mad scientist look isn't going to cut it, anymore," Spirit said, "What the h-hell is wrong?"

"Don't push it, Spirit." Stein said, sliding a scalpel out of his pocket and pressing the back of it against his index finger.

"Jesus, Stein, do y-you carry one of those everywhere?" Spirit asked. Stein smirked sadistically.

"Only around you, sempai." he glared.

"I'm h-honoured, Stein." Spirit said.

"You should be." Stein remarked.

"So, what's h-happened?" Spirit asked. Stein stared at him, his green eyes piercing.

"She's annoyed at you." Spirit guessed.

"You think?" Stein remarked, taking a drink out of the refilled glass.

"W-What for?" Spirit asked. Stein didn't respond.

"Y-You t-tried to d-dissect her." Spirit said. Stein laughed breathily.

"Never." Stein said, seriously.

"She's PMS-y." Spirit guessed again.

"No." Stein said.

"Did you knock h-her up?" Spirit guessed a third time. Stein turned to Spirit, a serious look on his face.

"Oh, God, Stein, Y-You _knocked her up_?" Spirit asked, incredulously.

"No!" Stein asked, finishing his second glass. Stein's face was flushed slightly. He had a _really_ low tolerance for alcohol.

"S-so, w-what is it?" Spirit asked. Stein sighed and glanced at Spirit. Just as he did, one of the cabaret girls, a blonde haired, blue-eyed, big-chested woman, walked up to the two of them.

"Merry Christmas, boys." she said, flirtatiously.

"Merry Christmas, you t-three." Spirit hiccupped, staring at the woman's assets. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the dirty man. She then turned to Stein, running her hands down his chest and up his neck. She pulled his glasses off and slid them in his labcoat pocket, turning his chin around so he faced her.

"Hi, there." she giggled.

"Yes?" Stein asked, thoroughly unamused.

"That's a mighty big _screw_ you've got there." she smirked, her voice rather piercing. Stein rolled his eyes.

"If all you offer here is terrible double entendres and an annoying, whiny voice, then I'll be leaving." Stein said, standing up and grabbing Spirit by the tie, dragging him out.

"Stein! Miss, I'm so sorry, excuse my friend. I'll make sure to repay you next time. M-Merry Christmas, g-girls." Spirit winked, the girl giggling slightly. Once Spirit and Stein walked outside, Spirit began to yell.

"What the _hell_, Stein! She was practically _begging _for it, and you just…" Spirit began. Stein turned around, what little alcohol he had drunk taking effect, and unleashed every ounce of emotion his body could process. He balled his fists in anger.

"Marie _loves me_! Fuck knows why, but she does! Alright, and I'm not going to throw that away for some airheaded slut who's sexual performance is based on how much money I slip in her underwear!" Stein yelled, taking Spirit aback. Spirit had never seen Stein like this.

"Whoa, Stein, c-calm down." Spirit said, staggering towards him, his arms outstretched.

"Do you _know_ how long she's felt this way? Do you? _Fifteen-fucking-years! _Fifteen years and I've been sitting around like the _idiot_ I am!" Stein said. Spirit drunkenly walked over to Stein, grabbing his labcoat and pulling him, face-to-face. Spirit's face was really close to Stein's; Stein could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Well, d-do you love her back?" the older, taller man asked.

"I don't know!" Stein yelled, still looking Spirit in the eyes.

"Well, fucking decide! B-Because if she's been waiting for fifteen _goddamn_ years, then she loves you more t-than anyone's ever loved anyone else I know." Spirit said, insistently. Stein sighed.

"I… _Fuck_." Stein said, looking away. Spirit smirked. He knew that exclamation. That was Stein's surrendering exclamation. That was the same exclamation he gave when he realised that Spirit was right and he wasn't.

"You fucking love her." Spirit smiled. Stein looked up at the scythe, cracking a sadistic smile.

"I fucking love her." Stein conceded.

"You fucking love her, Stein!" Spirit said, punching his former meister in the arm. Stein glanced back, sighing.

"Goddamn it." Stein said, turning around, cranking his screw backwards once, twice, three times.

"S-So I gather you've not told her?" Stein slurred.

"Course not. Because I'm an idiot." Stein said. Spirit cracked a smile and ran towards Stein, grabbing the lapel of his labcoat and dragging him along. Collecting his footing and beginning to run alongside Spirit, he managed to ask him something.

"What the fuck are we doing?" Stein asked, still sprinting alongside his drunk friend. Rational thinking wasn't high on the men's lists that night.

"_Y-You're_ going to tell Marie that you love her. Because it's _Christmas_, and if you fuck up a woman's Christmas, you'll never live it d-down." Spirit said. Stein dug his heels into the ground and stopped Spirit.

"What? No." Stein said. Spirit laughed incredulously. He wrapped his arms around Stein's waist and cackled.

"What the _fuck _are you-_Spirit!_" Stein said, but it was too late. You see, Spirit was incredibly strong; even deceptively so. Within five seconds, Spirit had picked Stein up and had slung him over his shoulder. Now, Stein was not a lightly built person. Stein was in just as much shock as any onlooker would have been.

"How the fuck are you-No, _why_ the fuck are you-I don't even know!" Stein growled. Spirit laughed and, even though the extra weight marred his speed, continued to make his way to Stein's laboratory.

"I _will not_ hesitate to stab you." Stein said, trying to find his scalpel. Spirit laughed and, with his spare hand, wielded Stein's blade.

"W-With this?" Spirit asked. Stein growled.

"Goddamn it! Put me down!" Stein said, kneeing Spirit in the stomach. However, Spirit's high level of intoxication had numbed his senses, rendering the hit useless. Spirit was _plastered_.

"N-Nope!" Spirit said.

"Put. Me. Down!" Stein yelled. Spirit shook his head.

"You know, I h-had to d-deal with you swingin' me around your fucking head for _years_. Now, y-you're going to grow a pair and t-tell Marie that you l-love her! Haven't you heard of Christmas spirit?" Spirit asked, as they made their way to the approach to Stein's laboratory. In which Marie no doubt was still awake, worried sick about where Stein was.

Spirit laughed to himself before they got to the door.

"Christmas Spirit. I'm Christmas Spirit. Because… it's Christmas… and I'm Spirit!" Spirit realised, incredulously.

"Genius. Put me down!" Stein exclaimed.

"Not til' you p-promise you're gonna tell the p-poor, sexy woman behind those doors that y-you love her." Spirit said.

"Fine, _fine_! Just put me down!" Stein said. Spirit obliged, dropping Stein in a heap.

"Better?" Spirit hiccupped.

"Shut up." Stein said, regaining his footing and giving the 'we shall never speak of this again' look to Spirit. Spirit smirked and stumbled up the stairs, Stein following. Spirit burst through the doors and laughed.

"Stein, oh, thank- Spirit?" Marie asked, seeing the obviously intoxicated Deathscythe.

"M-Marie-cha-a-an! I… I love you, you know that! You're such a g-good friend…" Spirit staggered towards the couch and flopped down on it, out cold. Stein sheepishly stepped through the doors.

"There you are." Marie said, walking over to Stein and glancing him up and down. She did this when she wanted to avoid something. Marie was a very motherly, protective person.

"I was worried sick about you." Marie said, checking Stein for any wounds from potential bar fights.

"Marie…" Stein said, trying to reopen the conversation they had earlier.

"No. How much have you had to drink?" Marie asked, looking into Stein's eyes.

"Marie, don't do this." Stein said. Marie balled her fists.

"Don't do what? Don't respond with 'I have to go' and leave after my best friend tells me they love me? Because if that's the case, well then, why can't I do it? You're _really _good at that." Marie snarled, though she didn't raise her voice much.

"Marie, I didn't know what to do." Stein said.

"What do you mean you didn't know what to do?" Marie exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, Stein, just tell her what you told me." Spirit slurred. Marie's eye darted to the drunken Spirit.

"What… What is he talking about?" Marie asked. Spirit managed to lug himself to a half-sitting position.

"I think h-his exact words w-were 'I fucking love her.' Lucky he didn't get the m-middle two m-mixed up…" Spirit laughed. Stein's head dropped into his hands.

"Spirit, sometimes I-" Stein began.

"Did you really say that?" Marie asked.

"Say what?" Stein asked. Marie sighed.

"Did you say that you loved me? Because that's about all that's going to redeem you at the moment." Marie said, very nearly at the end of her tether.

"Why do you care? Why do you give a fuck about me, Marie? Why have you not jumped on the bandwagon like _everybody else _and just run from me?" Stein asked, his voice raised.

"Because I _know_ that you're not what everyone _says_ you are! Well, I thought I did, anyway." Mari ended.

"See. There you go. Losing faith in me, like everyone else. Good." Stein said, quietly.

"I have not, _will_ not and _am_ not losing faith in you, Franken Stein. Don't say that _ever_." Marie said. Stein glared at her.

"You know, I don't know why I do this." Stein said.

"Do what?" Marie asked.

"This fucking _life_ thing. What's the point in living? What's the point of _anything_, for that matter? Why the hell do I even _bother_ anymore?" Stein exclaimed. Marie stopped her fighting at that point. The look of sheer abandonment and sadness in Stein's eyes would break the heart of most people.

"I gave you a reason to live today. I hoped that I meant enough to you for that to mean something. And you ran away." Marie said, quietly, her voice noticeably calmer. Stein's eyes widened and he looked at Marie.

"You do mean that much to me." Stein said.

"Well, then, can you listen to me for a minute?" Marie asked. Stein nodded.

"Of course." Stein said, calmed by Marie's serenity.

"You have to live, because I love you. I don't care that you ran away earlier today. But you can't run away this time." Marie said, sternly. Stein nodded and looked down as Marie took his hand.

"I love you. I don't know why I feel that way, but I do. And there's your reason to live. Me. I'm your reason to live, Stein." Marie said, her voice shrinking to a whisper, tears pouring from her uncovered eye. Stein shook his head.

"Don't cry." he said, quietly. He tilted her head up and looked her in the eye.

"Please… don't cry." he said. Marie went to wipe the tears from her eyes, but Stein pressed his hand to the side of her face and did it for her.

"Did you… did you really say that to Spirit?" she asked quietly. Stein took a deep breath and nodded.

"I do… I mean, I think I do. I just… I'm not sure how to work with emotions, you know that." Stein said.

"I know, honey, I know." Marie said, taking Stein's hand in her own. Stein smirked.

"Did you seriously just call me 'honey'?" Stein chuckled. Marie smiled and looked down.

"It's Christmas. I get a freebie." Marie smiled. Stein smirked slightly.

"If it means staying with you, then I'll learn my way around emotions." Stein said, quietly. Marie smiled.

"I'll teach you everything I know." Marie said. Stein smiled slightly, Marie returning the expression, and Spirit groaned slightly, asleep on the couch.

"First lesson." Marie said. Stein raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked. Marie walked over to the Christmas decorations that she'd put up and pulled a small sprig of mistletoe off of a wreath, walking back over to Stein and holding it aloft.

"Oh, I've taken this class." Stein said, pressing his lips to Marie's. Marie squeaked in surprise and dropped the mistletoe, draping her arms over Stein's shoulders as he rested his hands on her hips. When they broke apart, Stein noticed the blush that had appeared on Marie's cheeks. She smiled and blinked quickly, her breathing slowing after the rush.

"Uh… you pass. Flying… flying colours." Marie said, breathlessly. Stein smirked slightly and stood back, watching as Marie came back to Earth.

"You okay?" Stein asked. Marie sat down on Stein's desk chair, pulling it out from under the desk and catching her breath as she sat down.

"You're a _good_ kisser." Marie said, looking up at Stein and feeling more like a fifteen-year-old girl than a grown woman. Stein shrugged and smirked.

"Always room for improvement." Stein said. Marie smirked and clapped her hands together.

"Yes. Practice makes perfect." she smiled. Stein shook his head and smirked widely, taking Marie's hand and pulling her to a standing position once more. Marie took a deep breath in and wrapped her arms around Stein's waist, resting her head on his chest. Stein rested his hands on her back and they simply stood there for a while.

After a few minutes, a drunken voice called out.

"D'you tell h-her?" Spirit asked. Marie giggled slightly.

"He did, Spirit." Marie said, sweetly.

"Good. D'you jump him y-yet, Marie?" Spirit asked, once more. Stein's eyes expanded widely at Spirit's comment but widened even further at Marie's response.

"Not yet. Give it a couple of eggnogs, might be a different story."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Merry Christmas, Stein ;D**

**From a fanfiction writer to you, reader, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then enjoy the public holiday :P**

**Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I wish you good luck for the New Year. Don't eat too much, look after the old people and be nice. I'll be posting through the holidays because I sit at home doing nothing. Seeya, my peeps :D**

**~ Ri-chan x**


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